


walking a delicate plank into chaos

by crunchyskeleton



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Bisexual Kim Hongjoong, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, HONGJOONG HAS A MULLET, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kang Yeosang sees all, Kidnapping?, Kim Hongjoong is a panicked gay, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Park Seonghwa is Whipped, Park Seonghwa is an oblivious gay, Rating May Change, Seonghwa is a gentleman, Violence, Warnings May Change, and lots of piercings, but still a good guy, dark!ateez, despite being oblivious, hongjoong is a greedy motherfucker, maybe a little angst?, pirate-y things, some characters might be ooc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23779729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crunchyskeleton/pseuds/crunchyskeleton
Summary: Hongjoong is the captain of the most feared crew of pirates in the Caribbean of all time. The front Ateez present to the world protects them and those they deem as under their protection. Regardless, they are still pirates and still pillage and plunder like everyone else. When they come across a shipwreck survivor, they learn that they might not be the worst of them all anymore. Hongjoong has his world rocked by this new fellow and, on a completely unrelated note, keeps asking Yunho if he's dying, his heart feels weird, is Yunho sure he's not dying?Seonghwa was raised in a wealthy household, spending his whole life preparing to take over from his father as the owner of an investing firm. His whole world collapses down around him in one night and he vows to take revenge on the men who did it. Taking the help of a young captain that looks too familiar for comfort, he starts his decent into debauchery and piracy.Oh, and they save the world.//crossposted on wattpad
Relationships: Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 41
Kudos: 126





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so this is my first ateez fic and i really hope i can actually keep motivation for this :) updates are going to likely be sporadic because i am in my last semester of senior year and still have work even though schools are closed. i also awful writer's block. 
> 
> since i started stanning ateez i have loved the low-key pirate concept they always have, and my favorite songs are actually intro: long journey and outro: long journey because they have very pirate-y vibes. i want them to do a for real pirate concept at some point, like illusion, but not as soft. 
> 
> this work is inspired by pirates of the caribbean just a smidge and also the various pirate ateez fics i've read.

The sea was calm. After three days of heavy storming, the horizon was a gently sloping line and the waves sparkled with the sun’s glare. The breeze ruffled Hongjoong’s hair as he stood at the helm of the ship, guiding her away from a rapidly disappearing coastline. They had had good luck, raiding a coastal town just as the storm cleared, leading to a quick getaway. It always seems the sea was at their backs, supporting the crew when they needed it most.

If they stayed on their current course, they were bound to run across a merchant vessel, as they were trolling a well-known route for English merchants returning to home ports, coffers heavy with coin and rare goods ready for trading back in England. Their current vessel had been stolen from such merchants, outfitted and modified to be the fastest vessel in the Caribbean, outstripping even the fastest of the British fleet. Renamed the _Crescent_ , the ship was a thing to be feared. Any merchant worth his salt would flee at the sight of the black sails, their flag sitting proudly at the top of the mast.

“Captain! Smoke starboard!” The cry came from Wooyoung, sitting in the crow’s nest, high above the deck, spyglass glinting in his hand. Hongjoong whipped his head around to find what Wooyoung pointed out and saw a plume of smoke darkening the sky over the horizon. Where there is smoke, Hongjoong smirked to himself, “There’s bound to be something for us to do.”

Coming into a distance where the naked eye could see the situation, he was immediately disappointed. Instead of a vessel floating gently on top of the waves, sails aloft and steady in the breeze, maybe lightly on fire, the captain’s gaze alighted on a vessel listing heavily in the water, mast snapped clean in two, splinters spearing into the cloudless sky. The top half of the mast was weighing down the port side of the boat, letting the sea rush into the ragged wound near the top deck railing. The stern was on fire, sending up the dark smoke they had seen, and debris were floating in the water surrounding the wrecked vessel. It had obviously already been the victim of a different crew.

“Alright boys, this looks like it used to be a nice vessel. Drop anchor! Let’s fish what we can from the water and see what kind of cargo they were carrying. Maybe we can find something worth our time.” Hongjoong motioned to two members of his crew to ready a net and a third to toss the anchor overboard. The first two men tossed the net into the water to ensnare the barrels bobbing in the waves and started heaving it back on board the ship amid groans and complaints from one specific man with two tone hair. His partner just rolled his eyes and smacked him up the back of the head once he turned around.

“Ow! Mingi what the fuck was that for?” He glared at the offending man, one hand on his hip and the other laid protectively on the back of his head.

“San, if you don’t stop complaining, I will throw you overboard and your best hope will be someone else sees this wreck. Or you can start going through this cargo like Cap asked. Your funeral.” Mingi shrugged before emptying the net and throwing it back over the side of the boat.

“Cap! There’s someone in the water!” Wooyoung’s shrill cry pierces through the crew’s bickering. “Mingi! Use the net!”

Hongjoong saw the man as soon as Wooyoung started talking, slung over a splintered board, body floating listlessly in the water below him. As he watched, the man’s body slowly started sliding toward the end of the board, finally slipping off the end, the other end of the board splashing back into the water without his weight. He floated on the surface for a few moments before his body began to sink to the unreachable depths of the ocean.

Just before the man is gone from their vision forever, Mingi and San slung the net underneath the drowning man’s body, hauling him over the edge of the railing, where he flopped limply onto the deck. The crew stands around the man, unsure of what to do, before someone pushes their way into the center of the circle to kneel next to the man. He lifted his fist before bringing it down on the man’s chest, causing his body to contract and water to spew from his mouth. The man providing the care pushed on the castaway’s chest a few more times, trying to get the last of the water out, before standing up to face his fellow crew-mates.

“That should be the last of the water, and if it isn’t, then I guess we’ll find out by tomorrow.” He smiles wickedly, before turning to address the captain. “Cap, why do you insist on saving all the strays you see?”

“It wasn’t me this time, Yunho. Wooyoung was the one who called for the net.” Hongjoong fixes Yunho with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “I don’t appreciate your tone either. Show respect to your captain.”

Yunho grimaces apologetically before turning to Mingi and the other tall man on board. “Mingi, Jongho, would you carry our stranger to the cots? Find someone’s he can use for now.”

“Yes Doc.” Came the chorused reply. They each grabbed a set of limbs and started dragging the man below decks. Hongjoong watched Mingi’s head disappear down the stairs before turning his attention back to the wreckage surrounding them.

They had been floating near the wreck for the past few minutes, and it had already become so much worse. The deck was nearly entirely under water, the stern completely submerged. This had put out the fire, and the air was beginning to clear. The top half of the mast was free floating in the water, the flag gracing the surface. Hongjoong had been right. It was an English merchant vessel headed back home. If the man they rescued had been aboard, maybe he could be useful in finding similar ships if he were familiar enough with the routes and port cities they stop over in. If he failed to be useful, then he could go back and join his shipmates in the depths of the ocean.

Mingi and Jongho reappeared from below deck and were reassuming their previous positions. Jongho untied a rope from the railing and pulled it tighter, the sail snapping tauter against the wind that had sprung up from the east. The boat began to pull away from the wreckage, Hongjoong watching the last moments of the ship as it finally sunk beneath the waves. He took a deep breath of sea air through his nose before grasping the wheel and setting his gaze on tomorrow beyond the horizon, hair ruffled gently by the wind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seonghwa wakes up in an unfamiliar room, in an uncomfortable bed. Not knowing where he is, he believes the worst. A kind looking man is the first to come into his room, bringing food and news of the days that had passed. Seonghwa realizes he will never see his father again and is met with someone he believed had disappeared in the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter 2! I wrote this in less than 24 hours, which is crazy for me, usually it takes so much longer. The rating changed with this chapter just because I wanted to be safe with the light description of violence. 
> 
> I hope you like it and if you do, please leave kudos or a comment. If you want to talk to me or ask any questions, find me @ 3rachagay on twitter.

Screaming. Why was there so much screaming? Didn’t they know he was trying to sleep? A soft grunt left his lips as Seonghwa turned over in his bed…which is _a lot_ more uncomfortable that he remembered it being. And his chest hurt, by god his chest hurt. It hurt to breathe, to even think about breathing. _What the fuck had he done last night?_

Seonghwa opened his eyes to the dark wooden planks of the ship overhead. There was very little light and it smelled slightly less than pleasant. This certainly was not his cabin he shared with his father on their boat, _Illusion_. He moved to sit up before the memories hit.

~

Screaming, the sound of an explosion, his father shaking him from his sleep. The storm still raged outside, tossing waves violently against the hull of the ship. He stumbled from his bed, barely stopping to pull on his boots. Hair fell into his eyes as he looked over the chaos of the deck. Men dressed head to toe in black ruthlessly slayed his crew, swords gleaming in the flashes of lightning, coated in blood. They wore masks and wide brimmed hats which hid all but the steely glint in their eyes as they found their next victim.

He didn’t even try to resist as they shoved him roughly down onto his knees next to his father. After killing most of the crew, they rounded up the survivors and lined them up on the deck, surrounded by the bodies of the men they had known. A fire raged at the stern, barely dampened by the rain that fell steadily above them, sending smoke gliding across the deck, swirling around the boots of the eight men standing in front of them. The smallest of them stepped forward, foot landing wetly in a pool of rain and blood that was still flowing from the body he had rolled aside.

“You are all some lucky bastards. We decided not to kill you yet!” He laughed before taking another step, grabbing a deck hand by the jaw with a gloved hand. “Now, we’re looking for something, have you seen it?”

Before Seonghwa could stop himself, the scoff cut through the sound of rain hitting the deck. The man let go of the boy’s jaw and swaggered over to stop in front of Seonghwa. He squatted down, settling his elbow on his knee to prop up his chin.

“Do you have something to say to me, pretty boy?” Seonghwa couldn’t see the man’s mouth behind his mask, but the smirk was audible. He set his jaw before responding.

“How is he supposed to answer your question if he doesn’t even know what you’re looking for?”

“Ho ho,” The man let out a cackle before turning to look at his one of his own men, “It looks like he has some spark left! Reminds me of someone I know.”

Seonghwa just glared. He could see the man’s eyes, white sclera shining from within the shadow of his hat. He had delicate features, but any man who believed he was easily overpowered was severely mistaken. This was a man one must tread carefully around, lest they wind up in a gutter with a knife in their back.

“So, pretty boy, you want to know what we’re looking for? It’s an ancient artifact, a necklace. Looks like a compass, supposed to lead worthy men to their Treasure. Heard of it?”

Seonghwa’s breath stuttered. The necklace around his neck suddenly felt as if it was being pulled straight down to Hell. Heard of it? He was _wearing_ it. He blinked before looking the man in the eyes. “Actually, I haven’t. Are you sure you’re on the right ship?”

The man evidently did not appreciate Seonghwa’s attitude, as he roughly grabbed the back of his head, hand fisting into his hair, pulling Seonghwa to be mere inches from the man’s face. “I guess you think you’re funny, huh?”

“The captain has a very nice jacket, I want it.” The man snapped his fingers and two men stepped out of line to grab Seonghwa’s father and haul him to his feet. They manhandled the coat off of his shoulders before one stepped forward and draped it over the man’s back. “How does it look?”

His crew gave various noises of approval before the man turned to Seonghwa again. He was still in the man’s grip, trying to keep his breathing even and calm, but Seonghwa could feel the beginnings of panic seep into his throat, closing his airway and making it hard for him to breathe. He closed his eyes as the man yanked his head back, exposing his neck.

“I asked you, how does it-oh, pretty boy. You lied to me.” When the man had pulled Seonghwa’s head back, he had felt the necklace tucked under his shirt fall into the open through the unbuttoned top of the garment. The compass had shone itself proudly to the man in a flash of lightning. Seonghwa watched the greed enter his eyes. “Are you _sure_ you’ve never heard of it?”

~

Seonghwa was shaken out of his daze by the sound of the door to the room hitting the wall. The man who entered was tall with a soft looking face and kind eyes. Seonghwa was wary, a soft face did not mean a soft person. Looking at the man through the curtain of his bangs, he noticed the man was holding a tray with a bowl on it in one hand and a leather bag in the other. _Ah, so he must have kicked the door open_. “So, you’re awake.”

“Yes.” Seonghwa was short, terse in his response. “Who are you?”

The man looked different than the ones who attacked his father’s ship. They were clad in dark clothing and exuded an aura of danger, of violence, even when they stood still. This man did not have that same feeling. He was strong, made obvious by his broad shoulders and arm muscles obvious even underneath his worn brown jacket, but he was not dangerous, in that moment at least. Seonghwa knew this was not one of the men who were on the ship that night. That did not mean that he was not part of the same crew but Seonghwa decided to hope for the best.

“Have some food, and I’ll answer some of your questions. I would also like to look at your injuries if you’ll let me.” The man moved forward and placed the tray on Seonghwa’s lap. The bowl held a thin gray porridge with chunks of what appeared to be meat and next to it was a hard biscuit. “That’s hardtack. There shouldn’t be any weevils in it yet.”

“Um, thank you.”

“I’m Yunho. I act as the sawbones around here. I’m the one who got all that seawater out of your lungs a few days ago. Guess I did an okay job, seeing as you’re not dead.” He had a gentle voice and seemed practical about the situation.

“A few days? What day is it?”

“The sixth of April. We found you on the third.” Yunho gestured for Seonghwa to eat, so he lifted a spoonful of broth to his lips and sipped. It was downright disgusting but he just grimaced and kept eating.

“Found me?” Seonghwa finally processed the second part of what the man had said.

“You were floating on a plank amid the ruin of an English trading vessel. Our bird spotted you and two crew men pulled you aboard with a net.” While he was talking, Yunho had opened his bag and was laying out bandages and a bottle of what appeared to be rum.

“Did you see,” Seonghwa took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady. “Was there anyone else? Did you see a man with dark hair, looked to be about forty?”

“I’m sorry. There was only you and a few barrels of tea.”

Seonghwa let out a breath, shoulders slumping. He had known that there was very slim, almost nonexistent chance his father had also survived, especially with what those men had done to him before they shot the ship full of holes and disappeared into the steady curtain of rain, which quickly hid their ship from sight.

“What is your name?”

“S-,” Seonghwa hesitated, not wishing to give his identity away to a man whom he did not know the intentions of. “Call me Hwa.”

“Okay Hwa, could you remove your shirt for me?” Seonghwa looked at Yunho, scandalized. “I need to check your wounds. Whatever happened to you left a few nasty cuts.”

Seonghwa moved to raise his arms to pull his shirt above his head and let out a whimper. Lying in bed had not lent itself to movement and Seonghwa had not noticed how much pain his body was in beyond the feeling in his lungs. It felt like there were knives being driven into his shoulders and fire erupting on his skin.

Yunho asked if he could remove the garment and Seonghwa consented. Yunho moved his arms for him, pulling the shirt off and laying it on the end of the cot. Looking down at his own chest, Seonghwa counted several cuts, all over two inches long, and by the looks of them, pretty deep. He shivered, remembering the feeling of cold steel running over his skin as the masked man laughed above him.

“Yunho! Are you almost finished?” A voice called from the corridor, a delicate man stopping in the frame of the door. Seonghwa whipped his head to the side to examine the intruder, noticing first his short stature, then the long hair the man sported. It was cut short in the front, with a long curtain disappearing behind his shoulders. The final thing Seonghwa made note of were the man’s eyes. Delicate, rimmed in kohl, calculating and smart. Deadly.

They were the same eyes he had looked into as the compass was ripped from his neck, as he heard his crew men shoved over the railing of the ship, as his father’s throat was slit.

It was the man who had attacked them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hongjoong checks on the newest addition to their crew hoping to rid himself of the boredom that had been plaguing him since they plucked the man from the middle of the ocean. He is not quite prepared for what he is met with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3! What do you think? Leave a comment if you liked it! This was not my favorite chapter, I feel like my writing could have been better but its not the worst thing I've ever read.

Hongjoong was bored. It had been three days since they had come across the wreck and since then, nothing interesting had happened. The man they rescued had been sleeping in San’s cot the whole time, causing the boy to bunk with Wooyoung, not that either of them minded very much. The barrels they pulled from the water had contents of very little value, just half disintegrated blocks of tea, likely set for some English household in one of the ports all around the Caribbean. Hongjoong was disappointed at the weak haul, but the castaway had a chance to make up for it, if he ever woke up.

Yunho had been taking food down to the man every day even after the first day, when he checked the man for wounds and cleaned any that he found, in preparation that the man would be awake but always returned to the kitchen with the tray untouched. Hongjoong knew he didn’t really mind, despite him complaining of the ‘boring new patient’. He was a kind soul. Yunho had actually just set off down the stairs to the mid-deck to check on him for the day. Hongjoong decided to follow him and maybe take a proper look at the man he decided to allow aboard.

~

“Yunho! Are you almost finished?” Hongjoong called from the base of the stairs. When they took the ship from the British rats that had been sailing her before, they were delighted to discover that beyond the captain and first mate quarters, the sailors had decided to erect thin wooden walls spaced around five feet apart down a portion of the ship to create makeshift rooms and a hallway. It was dark, but they kept a lantern near the middle of the hallway and after enough time, had gotten so familiar with the layout they could safely walk the ship in their sleep.

He made his way down the hallway to the furthest room before it opened into the rest of the mid-deck. Seeing the door was already open, Hongjoong situated himself in the open space, leaning his shoulder against the door frame. The sight he was met with was not boring to say the least.

Hongjoong was first drawn to the tanned planes of the man’s chest. While Hongjoong loved a woman’s figure, he was equally, if not more drawn to the sturdy, dependable frame of a man. And a frame this man had. He was thin, but not sickly. It was obvious he was used to work, muscles sculpted and present. He also had one of the most beautiful faces Hongjoong had ever seen. As a pirate, pretty faces were not in abundance, despite the looks of his crew. Hongjoong liked to think they were far above average, and this man was far, far, far above average. It took his breath away.

The second thing he noticed were the wounds marring the otherwise pristine skin. There were eight cuts on various places over the man’s chest, deep and barely starting to heal. They looked as if the inflictor was precise and calculating in where to place them so they would hurt the most. The largest one was just below his right collar bone, running parallel in the skin underneath. After the initial catalogue of the man in the bed, Hongjoong flicked his gaze to the man’s eyes and was off put by the sheer rage and hatred he saw.

“Ah, Captain, how nice of you to join us. I was just about to-” Yunho’s sentence was cut off by the man’s attempt to move from the bed. He struggled, clawing at Yunho’s shoulders in order to stand straight on shaky legs.

“You!” The man practically spit the words in Hongjoong’s direction. “It wasn’t enough to cut me up like a prize lamb, but you had to drive it home by slitting my father’s throat and tossing his body to the ocean like he was a piece of rotten fruit?”

The man’s voice shook with rage and was loud enough by the end of the sentence to fill the room. He tried to take a step forward but Yunho grabbed him by the waist and pushed the man gently back on the bed, a concerned look on the doctor’s face. “No! Let me up! He killed my father! Bastard ruined my life!”

“Bastard I am not, thank you very much. Both of my parents were married and happy, for the most part.” Hongjoong was surprised to hear his voice was steady and clipped. He had little experience with such hatred from a person he had never seen before, except for the one time an angry wife had chased him through the dawn streets of Port Royal in his undergarments. “I’ve never met you before, and I definitely didn’t cut up that chest of yours. Pity, it was so nice.”

“Don’t lie to me, I’m not stupid. You looked me in the eyes as your tore my life away from me and I want to look into yours as I take yours from you.” The man kept trying to shove Yunho off of him, but three days of no movement had made him weak, Yunho barely moving with each push.

“Hwa, I told you we picked you up three days ago, _after_ your ship had been destroyed. None of this crew has seen you before.” Yunho reasoned.

“Those eyes. I-I’ll never forget those eyes.” Hwa’s voice broke with emotion. It was obvious to Hongjoong that Hwa was traumatized by his experience. Whomever he had seen that night looked an awful lot like Hongjoong and the man was unlikely to forget him.

“Hwa,” The sound of his name had the man glaring at Hongjoong again, rage and hatred shining through a glaze of tears. “You may not believe me, but I’ve never seen you before. My crew does not kill unless it is unavoidable. We may be pirates but we are respectable.”

Hongjoong moves from the doorframe back into the hallway, taking a deep breath as soon as he was out of Hwa’s sight. Valuing some sound council, he set out in search of Yeosang, his first mate and closest confidant.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hongjoong seeks council from his childhood friend, Yeosang, about the castaway who seems to know his face. Seonghwa remembers more of the night he had his life torn away from him by the stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its been so long! I wasn't feeling inspired and i had to get all my final assignments in. But, as of today, I have graduated high school. Its a weird feeling because there wasn't any celebration due to covid and yet, here i am, a high school graduate. Anywayyyyyy, here's the new chapter, and I really hope you like it! 
> 
> theres a few things that might put some people off, so:  
> tw/descriptions of violence and blood

They had grown up in the same town, a few streets away from each other, close enough they could seek each other out when they needed comfort, a friend, someone to patch them up, but far enough away they could hide at the other’s house if needed. Growing up like that formed a bond, and when Hongjoong decided he was leaving, joining a small crew of pirates that had made port a few days before, Yeosang barely hesitated before throwing his few belongings in a bag and joining him.

Hongjoong knew he would find Yeosang at the bow of the ship. When he wasn’t overseeing the others or completing tasks given by Hongjoong, he liked to look out over the endless ocean, and enjoy the feeling of flying over the waves. From his position behind the wheel of the _Crescent_ , Hongjoong could see his friend’s blond hair glinting in the sun whenever he decided to spend time there.

“Sangie,” Hongjoong drew out the last syllable as he approached his friend, “Do you have a moment to talk to your all-time favorite pirate captain and bestest friend?”

The other boy chuckled and turned to face Hongjoong with a wry grin on his face. “What exactly did you do this time?”

“Okay, this time it wasn’t my fault, I promise! And what happened with Mingi wasn’t technically my fault either!” With a dull thud, Hongjoong stomped his foot on the deck like a child about to throw a temper tantrum. “But that castaway, the most beautiful man I have ever seen, hates my guts! _Mine_! For no reason at all! He accused me of murdering his father and leaving him to die! Would I do such a thing? Stop laughing at me!”

Laughing too hard to stand up straight, Yeosang looked at the captain from the deck at his feet. Upon seeing the put-out look of the other man, the puppy eyes and the lip that was jutting out too far to be anywhere near a natural pout, he could barely catch his breath, beating his fist on the wooden planks of the ship.

“Stop it!” Hongjoong stomped his foot again in protest of his treatment by his first mate. “It’s not funny! No one hates me unless I’ve slept with them or their partner!”

“Is it possible he is the partner of someone you slept with?” Yeosang managed to get his laughter under control to respond to his captain.

“Well if he is, he doesn’t care about that. It was weird,” Hongjoong let out a breath, tapping his delicate finger against his chin. “He accused me of slitting his father’s throat then threatened to kill me.”

“We don’t kill without reason,” Yeosang sat in silence for a few moments before continuing, “anymore. Do you think he could be someone from before the _Crescent_?”

“It’s possible but I highly doubt it. The kind of pain in his voice was raw, new. I think whoever killed his father is the same person who left him for dead among that wreck.”

“In our last port stop, I went to the nearest pub to see if I could get any stories of good treasure we could follow, but the only thing they were talking about were men dressed in black who destroyed ships like it was nothing. They said it was eight men, in hats and masks, led by a small man with long hair. One of the men in the pub survived an attack from them, said they left him alive, but injured, in the middle of a wreck. Said they were looking for a compass or something.” Yeosang looked uneasy recounting the story. “Do you…do you think our castaway could have experienced the same thing?”

“I don’t know, Sangie, he didn’t exactly sit me down and spin a detailed yarn of his plight.” Hongjoong snapped, before apologizing. “It’s just so unsettling to have a man know your face from something so horrific and you not know his in return.”

~

Seonghwa stopped struggling against Yunho’s hold as soon as the Captain disappeared from his view. Tears still dripped steadily down his cheeks, heavy breathing the only thing to be heard in the room.

“What exactly, Hwa, was _that_?” Yunho directed a strong glare toward the man on the bed. “Why did you try to attack my captain without provocation?”

“Without provocation? Then what exactly would you call killing my father for sport? An extension of friendship?” Seonghwa replied in a scratchy voice, low and gravely from crying. “I should have strangled him with my bare hands for what he did.”

“My captain is an honorable man, whether he be called pirate or not. No one on this ship would do such a thing. I don’t know who you saw, but it was not Hongjoong.” Yunho moved to grab the rum bottle and a bandage. “Now, I still need to clean your wounds. You’re lucky they didn’t start bleeding with your erratic movement from earlier.

Seonghwa just grunted his assent before gritting his teeth against the pain of the rum on his ruined skin. Yunho was gentle, but it still hurt when his wound was packed with cotton and his torso was wrapped in cloth strips to keep the bandages in place.

“Your shirt is tattered and covered in blood, so I’ll see if we have an extra somewhere.” Yunho talked while he was packing up his bag. “Clean clothes are not exactly in large supply on a pirate ship.”

“Okay. Thank you” Seonghwa watched dully as the door swung shut behind the other man as he left. Seonghwa had little to do in the small room, so he laid down on the bed, and closed his eyes, hoping to sleep again.

~

“Pretty boy, I think you just made my day.” The small man still had hold of his hair, forcing Seonghwa to meet his gaze. It was almost sultry, the way the man looked at the pendant around Seonghwa’s neck. His smile was razor sharp before he spoke again, “I’ll just take this, and be on my merry way.”

Seonghwa forced himself to remain still as the man ran his other hand down Seonghwa’s neck, coming to rest on his chest next to the necklace. He closed his eyes before leaning close to Seonghwa’s ear, purring his next words, “Oh pretty boy, it really is such a shame you lied to me, we could have had so much fun together, but now, I have to leave you here.”

Hwa shuddered, almost happier at the prospect of dying with his crew than becoming this man’s toy. The man pulled back, finally pulling the necklace up over Seonghwa’s head and into his grasp. He handed it off to one of the taller men in line, who slipped it into his coat before standing eerily still once again.

“I said I have to leave you here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun!” The stranger squealed while pulling a knife from the many adorning his hips. His tongue flicked out, wetting his lips before setting the tip of the knife against Seonghwa’s collar bone. He sounded almost sincerely apologetic as he continued. “It is such a shame to ruin such a pretty figure though”

The sound of a commotion suddenly broke out, both men turning their heads to find the source of the noise. Seonghwa’s father was struggling against his captors. As they watched, he headbutted one in the temple and was able to break away from the second before running toward Seonghwa and the strange other man. “Don’t you dare hurt my son! I’ll kill you!”

He barely made it a few more steps before being tackled to the deck by one of his previous captors, once again being held between the two as he was hauled to his feet. The man in front of Seonghwa tutted before striding over to the three men.

“You think you can kill me? You can’t even protect your own son, you pitiful fool.” The man turned back towards Seonghwa before sliding his knife into Hwa’s skin, right underneath his collarbone.

The air was filled with pained grunts from Seonghwa and screaming from his father for mercy. The man just laughed before running his knife down Seonghwa’s stomach, splitting the skin, blood mixing with rain in the fabric of his shirt and running onto the already bloody deck. Seonghwa could barely keep from screaming himself but refused to give the man the satisfaction.

The man paused, running his eyes appraisingly over Seonghwa’s bloody torso, admiring his work, before his lips twisted into a scowl at the fresh sob his father let out. “Bring him here.”

The two men holding Seonghwa’s father dragged him closer to the man. “If only you had stayed quiet, you could have been the one to receive my mercy.”

His father could barely draw another breath before a flash of sliver in the lightning and he found himself on his knees, hands clutching at his throat as blood poured from the split in his skin. It ran down his arms, pooling underneath his feet before he could no longer hold himself up, falling flat on the deck.

The cold laughter of the man rang out through the night air as Seonghwa crawled toward his father’s prone body, stopped in his progress by a heeled boot in the small of his back. 

“You’ll see daddy again someday, pretty boy.”

~

The feeling of something hitting his face woke Seonghwa from his memories. He grunted, pulling it away and finding a shirt in his grasp. Looking at the door, he saw Yunho standing there with a frown gracing his features.

“Can you stand? The rest of the crew wants to meet you.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seonghwa finally meets the rest of the crew but has trouble separating the men in front of him from the men in his nightmares, leading to a step backwards in their relationship, despite just having met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a filler chapter, but I needed to have Hwa meet the rest of the boys at some point to further the plot, so it is what it is. Its not my favorite chapter but if you liked it, please leave kudos or a comment! I get so much motivation from both :)
> 
> find me on twt @ 3rachagay

Seonghwa groaned before beginning his ascent of the staircase. Yunho did not seem to understand the difference between standing and walking. There were several more muscles involved in the latter that protested his every move. _Some surgeon he is_. Yunho had gone up the stairs before him, leaving Seonghwa to struggle up the staircase by himself, just trying not to fall backwards.

Sunlight streamed in from the opening in the deck, hitting the first few steps, showing the true color of the wood. It was stained a dark brown, almost black, but the natural tone was showing due to wear. The slight breeze from the ocean felt nice on his skin after being cooped up in the small cabin for so long, but the light hurt his eyes a small amount. Seonghwa took a deep breath before coming fully onto the deck and facing the crew.

The first thing he noticed was there were only six men gathered in front of him, captain nowhere to be seen. Yunho was whom he made eye contact with first, which gave him a little boost of courage that he used to turn his eyes towards the next man in line. He was tall with broad shoulders, not unlike Yunho, however this man stood a few inches taller, and his hair shown an unnatural red in the glare of the sun. The man held Hwa’s eye contact for a few seconds before his lips split into a wide grin and his eyes almost disappeared into his cheeks.

“Hi! I helped save your life! You almost drowned! But we got the net to you in time! You were a lot heavier than you look now. Oh, you can call me Mingi!” Mingi had a deep voice that seemed to not quite match his loud personality, “What’s your name?”

“Uh, call me Hwa.” Seonghwa was slightly taken aback by the exuberance this man displayed, not expecting it from a crew he was still not sure was different than the one who had put him in this position in the first place. He barely noticed Mingi was still asking questions.

“-from?” The red-haired man looked at him expectantly.

“Mingi, let the man meet the rest of us, yeah?” The next man in line was, if Seonghwa was completely honest with himself, probably the prettiest man Seonghwa had ever seen. He had heavy lidded eyes that seems to peer beyond the walls Seonghwa had up around his true person and delicate pouty lips Seonghwa had to tear his gaze away from. A sharp cough broke his daze, coming from a short blond man who looked like he wanted to strangle Seonghwa for staring too long at the pretty man.

“My name is San, and I also helped bring you aboard. Guess we helped Yunho get to you in time, seeing as you’re not dead yet.” San was not as loud as Mingi but was still intense in his own way. Seonghwa wondered if the white patch in his hair was natural or not. San swept his dual tone bangs out of his face before looking to the man next to him.

“You can call me Wooyoung. I saw you in the water.” The blond was terse, still glaring at Seonghwa. He held himself as smaller than he actually was, like he was trying to hide inside himself. “San and I are best friends.”

The way Wooyoung spoke, Seonghwa knew there was more to it than that, and the intense glare finally made sense. “You both look good together. Thank you for spotting me, for I would be long dead had you not.”

The next man in line seemed boyish compared to the others, still having an amount of roundness to his face, an interesting contrast to his broad shoulders and obvious strength. He was taller than both San and Wooyoung but did not reach the height of Mingi and Yunho. When he spoke, there was an audible pout to all of his words. “I’m Jongho, the ship’s cook. I hope there weren’t any weevils in your hardtack this morning.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you, there were no weevils.” Seonghwa grimaced at the memory of the biscuit. One could practically build a house from the bricks trying to masquerade as food. He turned to the final man in the group yet to be introduced and met eyes with someone who knew too much. There was something about him that made Seonghwa wary of trusting him too quickly.

“My name is Yeosang. I’m the first mate and quartermaster on the _Crescent_. If you have any issues, you can bring them to me or Cap. Once you’re healed, you’ll be expected to pull your weight until we find a port where you can find passage home.” The short man held obvious respect from his crewmates, and he talked as if he knew every word was going to be followed exactly, as it likely was. “I hope you don’t mind slumming it with some pirates for the next few weeks.”

Yeosang’s mention of the missing crew member reminded Seonghwa that there was a seventh man aboard the ship, suddenly becoming aware of the heavy gaze on his back. He turned, squinting through the glare of the sun to make out the figure of the captain, standing behind the wheel. The captain just inclined his head before turning his gaze back to the ocean in front of them. Knowing a dismissal when he sees one, Seonghwa turned back to the six men in front of him.

“So, where is the rest of your crew?”

“What do you mean?” Mingi was the first to break the short silence.

“Well, given that your captain slit my father’s throat, I was just wondering where the other seven people are that watched him do it?” Seonghwa could no longer act as if there was nothing wrong. These were the mates of those whom murdered his crew in cold blood and stood passively as their captain carved into his chest before taking his father’s life.

Yunho let out a heavy sigh before responding heavily, “I already told you; we found you three days ago floating in the wreckage of your old ship. None of us have ever seen you before, least of all Cap. He did not kill your father. We did not murder your crew.”

“There are only seven of us, anyway.” Jongho spoke up from his place next to Yeosang.

Seonghwa scoffed, “Only seven of you? Crew _this_ ship?”

“Cap and I run a very tight ship.” Yeosang had taken a step forward into Seonghwa’s personal space, throwing him off guard.

“Get away from me.” Seonghwa could only think how Yeosang must have enjoyed watching him get carved up like a prize hog. “Your captain is a near perfect twin to the man I saw that night, so unless you can explain that to me, then I have little reason to believe differently.”

Yeosang gave him a flat glance before waving Yunho over from his place by the rest of the crew. “Return Hwa to his cabin. He obviously does not feel safe around us.”

~

Hongjoong watched from his post at the wheel as Hwa stepped onto the deck of the ship for the first time. He looked more relaxed, at ease with the world when he could see sunlight. Hongjoong also noticed how Hwa’s shirt was barely buttoned, leaving his bandages clear for anyone to see. And bandages were definitely the only thing Hongjoong was looking at. He was totally not checking out the rest of his chest…and Hwa’s abs. Hongjoong definitely was not looking at those.

The captain tore his gaze away and stared at the cloudless sky for a few minutes before returning his eyes to the group of men in front of him. He chuckled at Wooyoung’s obvious jealousy of the new man aboard. The boy had never been subtle about his affection for San and the whole crew was aware of his feelings, except for San. It was a little painful to watch sometimes.

Hongjoong spaced out for a few seconds but was brought back by the sound of his title from Yeosang’s mouth.

“-bring them to me or Cap. Once you’re healed, you’ll be expected to pull your weight until we find a port where you can find passage home.” It appeared as if Hwa had forgotten Hongjoong existed aboard the ship because his head whipped around in surprise at the mention of his station and proceeded to glare at Hongjoong until the other man inclined his head before focusing on the ocean.

Hongjoong had very little understanding of why Hwa hated him so much. He gathered that he looked identical to the man who attacked Hwa and killed his father, and he was slowly putting more stock in Yeosang’s story of a new, potentially more ruthless crew captained by someone who looked exactly like him. The reactions of the other man could only make sense in that context.

The captain watched as Hwa accused his crew of being present while Hongjoong slit Hwa’s father’s throat and as Yeosang shooed the man back into his cabin. The first mate was always there to deescalate any tedious situations onboard the _Crescent._ Hongjoong felt stronger knowing Yeosang had his back. They had survived so much together and the trust between them was unmatched.

Hongjoong forced himself to push the other man out of his head. They needed to find a new port to land in soon, the water supply was running low. Whether they paid with coin or swords for anything else they managed to find, well, that was up to his mood that day. Setting his sight on the horizon with a quick check of his compass, Hongjoong steadily piloted the _Crescent_ toward their next target.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dreams aren't always just dreams

He was submerged in silent darkness and then,

_Open your eyes._

The sound of waves crashing on the shore.

Indistinct muttering of many voices.

_Open your eyes._

So he did. He was standing on the deck of the _Crescent_ , breeze ruffling his hair. He was alone, no one on the deck with him. He spun in a circle, looking for his crew, eyes darting from the deck to the dark waters of the ocean beneath him. The waves and whispering got louder until his eyes alighted on a dark spot on the horizon, then they went completely silent, even the wind was gone.

He was hurtling across the ocean like he had been shot from a cannon. The dark spot getting closer and more distinct until it took the familiar form of a ship. It was the _Crescent_ , but everything had been painted black. Black deck, black railings, black flag. 

There was a small figure standing in the middle of the deck. It almost blended in completely, as it also was ensconced in black. He noticed the figure because when it moved, the chains on its body flashed silver in the sunlight.

He was on the deck in front of the figure. Everything was still silent.

The figure reached up and removed one strap of the mask from its ear, leaving it hanging to the side of its face, revealing a mouth he knew well.

Hongjoong stared at himself as his other smiled a terrible smile, lips parting too widely, teeth a little too sharp, eyes glinting a ghastly red.

“Open your eyes, Hongjoong.”

So he did.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a brand new spankin' chapter. It took a while but i did it! 
> 
> have some hongsang, some yeojoong, some back story!! 
> 
> i included eden in this chapter, and he's a little sketchy but i have absolutely no feelings, positive or negative, toward him irl, i just needed him to be a little sketch for the plot :) 
> 
> with this chapter i tried to use a little more 'pirate speak' and so in the dialogue, you'll see some missing letters and new slang and what not. I also tried to be historically accurate with the slang but i know scuttlebutt wasn't recorded until the 1800s while this story is taking place in the 1600s i think? so you'll have to excuse that. 
> 
> as always, i hope you like it, and if you do, leave kudos or a comment (or both if you're feeling spicy). you can find me on twitter @ 3rachagay if you wanna talk or have any questions!!

“He’s not eating.” Yunho reported the new development to Hongjoong the morning after Hwa met the other members of the crew. “I went to give him his breakfast and dinner from last night was outside his door, untouched.”

“So, he’s wasting our food. I will not stand for that on my ship. Tell our guest he can try and kill himself all he likes, but please do not waste our resources and coin to do so.” The captain was clipped in his delivery. He was growing increasingly annoyed at the man they had saved. The crew of the Crescent could have as easily left him to die in the endless expanse of the ocean and now the man is wasting perfectly good food simply to throw a tantrum that he ‘wasn’t being told the truth’ about the crew.

“Understood Cap. Shall I force feed him if necessary?” Yunho inquired with no small measure of mirth in his words. The unheard laughter was visible in his eyes.

“Great idea! Oh, and if you find Yeosang, send him to me.”

Yunho walked off with a small lazy salute and made his way to the mid-deck to knock some sense into their resident hermit.

“Knock knock,” He sang as he opened the door, stepping over the tray on the floor. “Rise and shine laddie!”

Hwa rolled over in his cot and glared at Yunho as he entered the room, Yunho flashed a smile in return. “Cap has some words for you. He says you can try to kill yourself all you want but please don’t waste our food. He also gave me permission to force feed you if necessary!”

Hwa scoffed and rolled back over to face the wall. “No, he didn’t”

“Do you really want to test that?”

~

Yeosang stood beside the captain and listened to the man go over their plan for their next port. “I want to stop earlier than we had planned previously. I need to talk to Eden.”

“Eden? Then you must be having those dreams again. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s not the same, but it was weird. I saw myself on a black ship.”

“You know, Eden doesn’t have the answer to everything.” Yeosang leaned against the railing, arms folded over his chest as he leveled a knowing gaze the captain.

“You don’t think I know that? You think I _want_ to talk to him after what happened last time?” Hongjoong looked at his first mate in disbelief.

“No, of course not. I just think it’s weird that you’re crawling back to him after everything.”

The captain laughed. It was bitter and full of pain. “If you think I want to do this, you are a few coins short of a chest. You know my feelings on this, Yeosang. Either say it plainly or shut your trap.”

The first mate pursed his lips before raising his hands in surrender. He dropped them back against his sides and took a breath. “May I take my leave, Captain?”

“Aye, matey, you’re dismissed.”

The captain stared at his first mate’s retreating back until he blinked and returned his gaze to the horizon. He hated fighting with the man, and over something so petty too. Neither of them liked the self-proclaimed wise man that lived deep in the jungle on Hispaniola, a day’s journey inland, following the Rio Ocoa. Hongjoong and Yeosang had met the man at a pub in a small port town on the Bahia de Ocoa. He had been sitting alone in a corner of the pub, drowning in rum. Neither boy had paid him much attention until he approached them at the table they were sitting and sat down. He struck up conversation and they learned he knew a good amount about the less talked about forces at work in the world. They sat and listened to the man for hours, until the early light of the next morning, and left the man standing on the dock as they sailed away on their next journey, expecting to never see him again.

It was a few years later, with Hongjoong having splitting headaches and night terrors of shadowy, dark figures wearing his face, flaying his skin from his bones and wearing it as their own. Eden had appeared in the same pub they had met him those years prior with a sparkle in his eye and an answer to their unasked question. He bade them to come to his home deep in the jungle, so they did. As they made their way out of town, a woman of the night whistled at them and plastered herself to Yeosang’s side

“Hello there sailor, you lookin’ for a warm bed?” She smiled seductively, hands working their way underneath his shirt. Yeosang shot a glance at the backs of his companions, neither of them noticing his predicament. She followed his gaze and immediately let him go. “What business do you have with Old Eden? He’s bad news. No one who goes to him for help comes back they same. They be missin’ some part of their soul. Never the same.”

Yeosang, always one to listen to warnings, was shaken. “What happens to them?’

“Some of the other girls, if they be with child, go to him as a last resort. They come back different, less bright.”

Yeosang adopted a pensive expression, taking in this new information. He thanked her and went in the direction the other two had disappeared. He found them on the edge of town, in the tree line, waiting for him. He faltered, before joining them.

“Found something pretty to have some fun with, laddie?” Eden leered at Yeosang as the boy made his way towards them.

“Ah, of sorts. She just let me in on the local scuttlebutt. Interesting stuff…” Yeosang was bland, unwilling to cross the man until he knew more.

The walk to the man’s house was long, the trio walking for hours before resting in a small clearing. Eden walked off into the darkness of the jungle, shouting something over his shoulder about needing to take a piss. As soon as he was gone, Yeosang leaned into Hongjoong’s space and told him what the prostitute had told him.

“Sink me, really?” Hongjoong looked uneasy at the information.

“I don’t trust him. Lubber been giving me the willies since the first time we met him.” Yeosang was honest with his friend.

“But do you have any other way to rid me of these visions? Something be not right with me. I’m sorry, Sangie, but I need to do this.”

The other boy nodded, still not liking the situation any more than he did before. Eden reappeared and told them to find a soft patch of ground to sleep on, as his house was still another long walk. Yeosang felt less than comfortable with being so unguarded around the man and vowed to stay awake until he was sure they were safe. He was a light sleeper and prayed to whatever forces existed to keep him safe. It took around an hour for Eden to stop moving around and Yeosang gave it another half hour just to make sure before curling himself around Hongjoong’s back and letting sleep claim his mind.

Yeosang awoke to Hongjoong’s screams.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eden explains what is happening with Hongjoong to a reluctant Yeosang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiiiiii i'm sorry its been so long, but school and then the holidays, you know? (happy holidays to everyone (^ ω ^)) I just wanna thank everyone who has been reading, and any new readers who decide to join me on this journey!! every kudo and comment is such a big motivator, so thank you.
> 
> A pretty short chapter this time but i just needed to write something and get it out otherwise i was gonna be stuck on this plot point forever, so here it is, ta-da!! *half hearted jazz hands*
> 
> as always, leave kudos or a comment if you liked it, and if you wanna talk about WADPIC or ateez, you can find me on twitter @ 3rachagay

Yeosang sat up, frantically wiping the sleep from his eyes. He looked on the ground near his body, looking for Hongjoong’s form, but came up empty. He looked out over the clearing and with the low light of the fire, could make out a hunched figure over another that was writhing on the ground.

Yeosang grabbed the knife he always kept stashed in his boot, brandishing it ahead of him as he strode over to the other two men. Grasping Eden’s shoulder, he threw the older man to the ground and planted his own foot on his chest.

“Just what do you think you’re doing to me matey?”

“It’s not what you think, he needs help. He’s going to choke!” Eden tried to push Yeosang’s foot off his chest with little avail. He was never among the strongest of men.

At Eden’s comment, Yeosang twisted to glance at his friend and noticed he was indeed gasping for breath. “Joong!”

He crouched next to the pirate’s prone figure but was knocked aside by Eden who pulled a small pouch from inside his coat. “You need to let me give him this or he will die.”

Yeosang grunted his assent, put away his knife, and watched apprehensively as Eden grasped Hongjoong’s jaw with his hand, forcing his mouth open. He was still twitching, but it was significantly less than even a few moments prior. Eden poured the powder from the pouch into Hongjoong’s mouth and then followed it with water from his waterskin. Massaging Hongjoong’s throat to force him to swallow the mixture, he sighed in relief.

“Now that you’re finished saving Joong’s life, apparently, mind explainin' what the fuck happened?” Yeosang pinned Eden with a withering glare before roughly pushing off the ground, brushing his hands along his back to get rid of loose dirt from being pushed.

Eden tucked the pouch back into his jacket before answering, “It was those dreams you’re here about. They are indeed dreams, but there’s something else to them. Hongjoong was sleepwalking. I woke up when he nearly kicked my head in. He made it to the edge of the clearing here before collapsing and starting to shake.”

The man paused but Yeosang gestured impatiently for him to get on with it. “He has headaches, right? And he’s dreaming of a man that looks like him?”

Yeosang nodded, and Eden continued, “Frankly, it’s a curse. Your lad here must have run into someone quite nasty. This is dark, dark magic. Someone wanted him worse than dead.”

Yeosang shivered. His lips were dry when he opened his mouth, “Is there anything to be done?”

The pirate moved to sit above his friend, drawing Hongjoong’s head into his lap. Yeosang brushed Hongjoong’s bangs away from his sweaty forehead as Eden laid out their course of action. “If he’s been cursed with what I think he has, then there is a ritual to remove it. However, it’s dangerous. Yer matey here has as much of a chance dying from the curse itself as he does by the ritual. This is not a decision made lightly.”

~

The two men had sat with Hongjoong until the sun rose, Hongjoong himself rising not too long after.

He groaned, startling Yeosang out of the trance he had found himself during the last few hours of the night. Yeosang called for Eden to hand over the waterskin and slowly let Hongjoong drink until he was able to sit up. He was dazed and it took a few minutes of repeating his name for Hongjoong to finally turn his head and acknowledge Yeosang’s presence.

Hongjoong half leant, half lied on Yeosang while Eden explained to Hongjoong exactly what he had explained to Yeosang. He also asked a few more questions of the young pirate.

“So, you said you were having trouble sleeping?”

“Aye matey, you know this.” Hongjoong’s response was slurred.

“I just needed to make sure. You’re not going to like what I have to say about what I think ails you.”

“Oh, just spit it out!” Yeosang was done with the man’s games. Too shaken he was by both the townswoman’s warning and the events of the past night.

Eden took a breath. He shifted a few times on the ground, then raised his gaze to the sky for a few seconds. He faced the two pirates. Another breath, “Your free soul has been expelled from your body. It’s wandering the spirit realm without a home which to return and is slowly becoming corrupted. If left alone to wander for eternity, it will go mad, making you insane along with it.”


End file.
